How to Have Sex

In selected cinemas and available on Mubi

With her work as DP on Charlotte Regan’s outstanding Scrapper, Molly Manning Walker demonstrated a penchant for the sort of kitchen sink realism that has distinguished British independent cinema for many years. This predilection is continued in her directorial debut, which follows three teenage girls as they embark on one of kidulthood’s most well established pastimes - a boozy holiday abroad.

While that may sound like a bit of raucous but ultimately harmless fun, How to Have Sex soon establishes itself as one of the year’s most powerful films and an unflinching and timely analysis of sexual assault and how it too often goes unnoticed, let alone punished. The film is charged by a highly impressive performance by Mia McKenna-Bruce, whose subtle changes in expression say more about her character’s plight than words ever could.

Manning Walker does an excellent job of creating an instant and uneasy sense of foreboding which is characterised by Nicolas Canniccioni’s authentic depiction of the grim debauchery that is synonymous with the sort of alcohol-fuelled vacation the film’s central characters embark on. The sight of McKenna-Bruce’s quietly traumatised character walking the abandoned, litter-strewn streets of Malia alone the morning after the night before is one of the most depressing sights I’ve seen this year, and is just one of many moments within How to Have Sex that linger long after its credits have finished rolling.

In today’s age of misinformation, where brazen misogynists such as Andrew Tate and conspiratorial hacks like Russell Brand continue to attract apologists, tales that so powerfully reinforce the importance of sexual consent are more essential than ever before. This is a highly impressive and often deeply uncomfortable picture that establishes its writer-director as one of the most vital visionaries working in cinema today.